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The present study aims to identify and study the online privacy concerns, its explanatory variables and their affect on reactions and online purchasing behavior of Indian consumers. Globalization means that companies are setting manufacturing units where their cost dynamics are most attractive and then servicing the customers in different markets. Therefore, today, most of the globalized firms are using technology to overcome physical barriers with the customer. The value chains are being reorganized to come up with innovative strategies for sales, delivery and service channels. These strategies use Internet as a competitive tool, thereby providing marketers with a completely new landscape to work with. This channel means that now even the tangibles (products) are being sold on the basis of intangibles (services). In this landscape, the success of an online business depends on its capability to think globally and act locally. Sensitivity displayed by a company to effects of cultural nuances on a consumer’s psychological constructs will determine the success of a company and its strategy. It is in this backdrop that the current study was undertaken.

To establish a relationship of the consumer privacy concerns and consumers’ reactions and their online purchase behavior, data were collected on the basis of a self-administered structured questionnaire. Data were collected from 150 respondents. Confirmatory factor analysis in LISREL (8.70) was done to check the validity of the scale. Incremental fit indices and parsimonious fit indices were used to interpret whether the model fit the data. Further, data were analyzed using factor analysis, correlation and chi-square tests.

The study found several significant correlations between consumer’s online privacy and their behavior. The study made attempt to study only linkages and not a causal relationship. This study found that there was a correlation between online privacy concerns and consumer behavior. Indian consumers opted to voice and complain about privacy concerns, and hence, companies need to invest in recovery strategies. Furthermore, Indian consumers exhibited more of a refrained behavior rather than hedonic purchase behavior. However, refrained behavior was a first step toward the latter. To promote refrained behavior, marketers need to work with a model which provides Indian consumers with an assurance of procedural fairness and fair information practices. These companies need to invest in software, rewards, detailed privacy notices and tangibles to motivate customers into transacting online. Armed with this information a marketer can also invest into the right kind of privacy and security tools.

Due to the limited sample size, the results of the study can be generalized to a limited extent.

The results would help online marketers maneuver the target consumer’s behavior in the desired direction. The results would help companies design and invest in the right kind of privacy and security tools, for the target segments matching the sample.

The manuscript is based on a unique data set collected for this study. The references have been cited as per American Psychological Association (APA) rules. The work is original.

Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the privacy of their personal information and information about their purchase behaviors. The current study examines the extent to which consumers are concerned with how their personal information is collected and used, their awareness and knowledge of data collection practices using discount (loyalty) cards, the relationship between demographics and privacy concerns, and the relationship between privacy concerns and purchase behaviors. Results from a telephone survey of 480 consumers suggest that even though consumers are concerned about how personal information is collected and used, very few consumers are aware of how discount (loyalty) cards are used to collect personal level purchase data. Results also suggest that concerns about the use of personal information vary by demographic market segments, and that privacy concerns are significantly related to consumers’ purchasing behaviors on the Internet.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between e-marketing (eM) and consumers’ buying behavior particularly exploratory buying behavior tendencies (EBBT) with moderating effect of a gender in the context of China.

Structural equation modeling using SPSS/AMOS was majorly applied to ascertain the relationship and hypotheses testing. First, the correlation of eM toward EBBT is examined using five factors: internet marketing (IM), e-mail marketing (EMa), intranet marketing (IMa), extranet marketing (EM), and mobile marketing (MM). Second, the relationship of each dimension of the eM model is determined autonomously to ensure the importance of such emerging technologies in marketing communications. Third, the effect of gender as a moderator is measured. To this end, primary data were collected through random distribution of the questionnaires among 1,600 consumers particularly students of the universities between February 2016 and August 2016 within North China.

The findings revealed that eM has a significant correlation on consumers’ EBBT. The comprehensive analysis of each factor of eM, i.e., IM, EMa, IMa, EM, and MM is positively correlated to EBBT. The present study revealed that gender did not moderate among the relationships of eM and EBBT. Additionally, study furnishes practical directions on how managers can utilize such emerging and revolutionary technologies in marketing activities to probe, understand, and reinforce consumers’ buying behavior.

The research has limitations related to geographical location and sample size which thus limits the widespread generalization.

This study affirmed that organizations must engage the consumers using such technologies that are more likely acceptable by consumers in the present customer-oriented and digital era. The marketers must engage consumers the way they wish to be engaged by developing appropriate promotional strategies. The study provides possible implications both theoretical and managerial along with a contribution to the literature of eM and consumers’ buying behavior.

Understanding the emerging technologies may furnish valuable insights for individuals to work well within Chinese SMEs.

The topic of eM has acknowledged as an evolving concept which is gaining an intense concern of both academician and practitioners. Therefore, more research mainly empirical work is still needed to probe the insights of eM across the globe. This study attempts to fulfill such need with empirical evidence together with an in-depth examination of eM determinants, collectively and autonomously.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the Internet's paradoxical nature from the perspective of consumers.

First, it is discussed that negotiations between companies and consumers about their respective shares of power lead to different models of consumer power. Second, the paradoxical effects of technology on social relations and an individual's sense of identity and responsibility are discussed. These changes have altered not only consumer behaviour but also the relationship between producers and customers, in the sense that power shifts to consumers. The case of the international music industry is used as an example. This case embodies many of the studied aspects of the paradox concept and proves useful in the development of implications for companies and their strategies.

The paper finds that while negotiations between companies and consumers about their share of power lead to different models of consumer power, the effects of technology on social relations and individuals' sense of identity and responsibility lead to changes in consumption behaviour.

The paper identifies how business practices have changed in response to the changes in intellectual property matters and the power constellations between companies and consumers. The theoretical models presented in this paper represent different positions that companies and consumers can take and are helpful in explaining the current power struggles, such as file sharing activities, which on a more individual level also correspond to paradoxical effects of the Internet (social relations, deindividuation effects).

This paper takes a fresh look at the Internet's paradoxical nature from a consumer point of view. It is argued that some of the Internet's paradoxical effects stem from socio‐political and socio‐cultural changes, for example, a power shift from companies to consumers, and normative and anti‐normative behaviours.

In a dynamic environment, understanding the consumer’s behavior in an online market is critical for the development of online retailers’ strategies. In Egypt, although the number of internet users is growing rapidly, online shopping is at an early stage of development. In addition, there is a lack of knowledge about the behavior of Egyptians toward online shopping and the factors that influence their behavior.

To demonstrate the applicability of the technology acceptance model (TAM), this research applies an extended TAM to analyze the factors that impact the Egyptian consumers’ online shopping behavior. Structural equation modeling is used for fitting the data and testing the hypothesis.

Findings revealed that perceived enjoyment, perceived ease of use, social norm and perceived risk have significant influences on the respondents to shop online; while the site language effect was insignificant.

This study has mainly four limitations. The first concerning the sample, it should cover diversified areas other than Cairo and should include respondents from different education levels. Future studies may consider using a national sample of current and potential online shoppers to be able to generalize the results. Second, the questionnaire should include questions about the levels of education and the level of income to analyze if they influence actual online shopping. Third, although the benefits of using online surveys such as reducing the costs and time and collecting data more accurately compared to paper-pencil surveys, the low response rate may lead to non-response bias. Finally, constructs such as website content, design, and response could be added to the TAM to examine different aspects of website functionalities on the actual shopping.

Considering that online shopping is still at the early stage of development in Egypt, there is a need to examine the factors that influence the behavior of Egyptian consumers while adopting online shopping. To fill in this gap, this study is analyzing the factors impacting the consumers’ decisions to shop online by examining a sample of students from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University. This study will contribute to providing an empirical application of the TAM on the Egyptian consumers in addition to, enhancing the knowledge of electronic retailers about the factors that drive consumers toward shopping online.

Despite the widely varying estimates about the strength of the global Internet economy, there is general agreement among experts about the dramatic influence of this medium on consumers as well businesses. However, one area that has generated conflicting views is the issue of Internet privacy. As businesses develop more sophisticated technologies to collect, store and disseminate information on consumers, privacy and security of this information are raising concerns among consumers and public policy advocates. Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that consumers in some European countries view privacy protection as a very important issue. Investigates consumer attitudes in the Federal Republic of Germany. The findings indicate that consumers in Germany have very strong views about protecting their privacy. They believe that both companies and governments are obligated to protect the information of their consumers and citizens. To this end, German consumers are willing to support stricter legislation. Results also suggest that German consumers’ views about Internet use and on‐line behaviors, are affected, among other things, by their views regarding privacy in general, their personal expertise in Internet technologies, and how they view the role of the government and the role of companies in protecting consumer privacy.

This study examines consumers' channel attitudes and choices leading to webrooming and showrooming, and how product attributes (informational vs experiential and perceived risk) moderate the effects of channel attitudes.

A research framework is built upon the heterogeneity of channel attitudes, the lack of intrachannel lock-in and interchannel synergy. A questionnaire-based survey yields 868 multi-channel consumer responses in China. Simultaneous equation modeling and STATA 12.0 are used to test the hypotheses.

Consumers webroom when buying high-risk informational products (e.g. personal computers or mobile phones). They webroom as well as showroom for high-risk experiential products (e.g. clothing or cosmetics). Moreover, a single channel is preferred to webrooming or showrooming for purchasing low-risk informational (e.g. books or stationery) and low-risk experiential (e.g. snacks or toys) products. The results also show that webrooming is more frequently used than showrooming by consumers.

This study extends current understanding on multi-channel and omnichannel shopping behavior and highlights the role of product attributes in customer journey mapping.

This study offers retailers and other downstream firms a fresh perspective on multi-channel customer experience management and channel design.

This study offers a clear explanation on the commonalities and differences between webrooming and showrooming.

In a voluntary consumer market, the consumer's decision‐making process is still a magnetic topic although a large number of related studies have been conducted. The purpose of this paper is to explore the determining factors for the future adoption of an innovation service and proposes a new model to better explain consumer's adoption intention.

Social cognitive theory is introduced in the paper to explore consumer behavior in terms of triadic and reciprocal causation among value, self‐efficacy, and adoption constructs. Based on the theoretical framework, a self‐efficacy‐based value adoption model (SVAM) is proposed to study the adoption of mobile auction (m‐auction) – one of mobile‐internet services in an empirical manner. The analysis of measurement and structural model is conducted via LISREL 8.80.

Research results indicate that the instruments are reliable and valid and the model is well accepted. Perceived functional, social, and emotional values are tested to have a significant influence on perceived value. Perceived cost is negatively related to perceived value and positively to attitude. m‐auction self‐efficacy (MASE) comes from subjective and objective general self‐efficacy, which not only directly impacts attitude but also strongly influences perception of all the antecedents of perceived value.

Although SVAM is proved to be successful in this paper, it still needs more experimental research from different research contexts and authors to be supported.

Compared with previous research on innovation adoption, results show that the model is more effective in explaining the adoption intention (R²=0.72). Just like perceived value has a significantly impact on attitude, self‐efficacy of m‐auction has an essential role in perceived values and cost and attitude. The result fully demonstrates that the value adoption model based on self‐efficacy is a better technology acceptance model, especially for a voluntary consumer market.

This paper considers the impact of the Internet on professional services, which are characterised by high levels of interpersonal interaction and where a significant component of the service product is information and expertise. For such services the Internet is primarily an accessible information resource, which has potential to fundamentally change the way in which consumers interact with service providers. The context for the research is healthcare, a professional service that has traditionally been characterised by an information asymmetry that has rested power in the hands of the professional. Based on interviews with healthcare professionals, Web site hosts and consumers, this paper considers the way in which consumers use the Internet to educate themselves about their condition and the consequent effect on the service encounter and the doctor/patient relationship. The findings indicate that patients are increasingly engaging in virtual, parallel service encounters that change the nature of the primary encounter and present challenges to professionals both in terms of relationships and their professional judgement.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how consumers respond to price promotions in stores and on internet channels during a holiday season. Since holiday shopping has long been considered promotion intensive and multichannel shopping is increasing, it is important to understand whether consumers respond differently to price promotions from these two different channels. The paper aims to examine whether the extent of price promotions that consumers perceive in online and offline channels and their sensitivity to such price promotions influences their holiday spending in each channel.

A public telephone survey was conducted to collect data during the month of December 2006. Using random sampling in Florida, a total of 501 responses were collected.

Overall, the findings support the effectiveness of price promotions during holiday periods. Such awareness of the extensive practice of price promotions at stores can encourage holiday spending offline; additionally, sensitivity to price promotions on the internet can be transferred into increased holiday spending online.

The results of this paper extend knowledge of how holiday price promotions affect consumer spending and provide important insights into how retailers should develop price promotion programs that are well tailored to consumer behaviors in different channels.

This paper addresses an untapped issue on how price promotions are perceived in multichannel holiday shopping contexts.